Last series of Bible Contradictions of the SAB Collection tested …
(Used version: NASB, unless differently mentioned)
476. Do the wicked live long?
The wicked live long and prosper. (Job 21:7)
“Why do the wicked still live,
Continue on, also become very powerful?”
Partly right. Job’s friends, trying to encourage him, had said repeatedly that the wicked don’t prosper. However it is not a general rule. Job, by contrast, disproved their point. Indeed it is not convincing to prove the faith with all sorts of “visible blessings”. Job challenged his friends with counter questions and examples (see also Ecclesiastes 8:10).
The wicked neither live long nor prosper. (Psalm 55:23, Proverbs 10:27, 24:20, Ecclesiastes 8:13, Jeremiah 23:19, Nahum 1:3)
“Men of bloodshed and deceit will not live out half their days.” (55:23)
Right. It is a biblical rule that evil and wickedness don’t remain for always. However we all know that it can endure for a very long time, too long. So it is a matter of personal conviction and belief how to deal with it, as Ecclesiastes 8:12 says: “Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and may lengthen his life, still I know that it will be well for those who fear God, who fear Him openly.”
Compare the article: “Does God destroy both the righteous and the wicked?”
No Contradiction
477. Is God’s will always done in heaven?
Yes (Matthew 6:10)
“Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.”
Right. Part of God’s will in heaven is to uphold his glory and power, e.g. against the devil. (see the example of Revelation 12:7).
No (Revelation 12:7)
“And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon.”
“The dragon and his angels waged war, and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven.” (12:8)
Wrong. Here we see that the dragon (satan) became rebellious against God, the result was that he was banished from heaven. (12:12).
Take note. Ephesians 6:12 should be translated “Our struggle is … against the spiritual forces of wickedness concerning the heavenly things/affairs (places is not in the text).” The heavenly things are the spiritual blessings of heaven unto the faithful which these forces dislike.
No Contradiction
478. Is wisdom a good thing?
Yes (Proverbs 2:2, 3:35. 4:7, 10:14, 14:8, 16:16, 23:23, Ecclesiastes 7:25, 9:16-18, James 1:5)
Right.
No (Genesis 3:6, Job 37:24, 1 Corinthians 1:19)
Wrong. Yes, wisdom remains OK, but often people neglect the Creator of wisdom: God. And then not infrequently wisdom becomes ineffective. The tree of knowledge (3:6) of which Eve wanted to eat is not a good example of wisdom at all.
“He does not regard any who are wise of heart.” (Job 37:24) Here is said that God is more than wisdom; not that wisdom is bad. In the end He acts according to his own plans. 1 Corinthians 1:19 says about God “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,” Even wisdom is not profitable if God is neglected.
No Contradiction
479. Does wisdom make people happy?
Wisdom makes people happy. (Proverbs 3:13)
“How blessed is the man who finds wisdom, … For her profit is better than the profit of silver”
Yes. It is a blessing to find wisdom. Why? It is profitable in life, to know how to act properly in difficult situations.
Wisdom makes people miserable. (Ecclesiastes 1:18)
“And I set my mind to seek and explore by wisdom, … It is a grievous task which God has given to the sons of men to be afflicted with.”
No. The searching for wisdom is a heavy task, confrontation with sinful events in the past brings pain. However, as soon as wisdom has been found it brings relief and knowledge to act righteously in difficult situations.
See the article.
No Contradiction
480. How many men were in the king’s presence?
Five (2 Kings 25:18-19)
Wrong. It were seven men, as a careful translation makes clear. “And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest, and Zephaniah the second priest; and the three keepers of the door, (19) and out of the city he took an officer that was set over the men of war—also five men of those that were in the king's presence, which were found in the city, including the principal scribe of the host,”
Two men are referred to by name Seraiah and Zephaniah with five individuals remaining unnamed to make seven (see Jeremiah, beneath). These nameless five are further qualified as “also five men that were in the king’s presence”. ‘Also’ is additional to the two main priests, who were “men that were in the king’s presence” as appears from ‘also’.
Seven (Jeremiah 52:24-25)
Right. “that is [pres. auth.] seven men of them that were near the king's person,” (KJV) This passage makes clear that the seven are the seven individuals mentioned here, they are all acquaintances of the king (those that were in the king’s presence).
See the article.
No Contradiction
481. Who is for or against Jesus?
Those who are not for Jesus are against him. (Matthew 12:30, Luke 11:23)
Right. “He who is not with Me is against Me” (12:30)
Those who are not against Jesus are for him. (Mark 9:40, Luke 9:50)
Right. “For he who is not against us is for us.” (9:40)
There are two different groups: (1) not for Jesus: being explicitly negative. (2) for him: who are not negative but rather positive. These two groups are different and not comparable, so no contradiction at all.
See the article.
No Contradiction
482. Whom did the women see at the tomb?
An angel (Matthew 28:2)
Partly right. Speaker reduction. In the resurrection message of Matthew only one angel is mentioned. That is because there is in the description only one direct speech of an angel. So a second angel is not excluded at all.
A young man (Mark 16:5)
Partly right. Here again speaker reduction as the message of that one messenger is central in the description: Mark 16:6-7. Here also, a second messenger is not excluded at all.
Two men (Luke 24:4)
Right. This were two angels as Luke (in the same chapter) says "But also some women among us amazed us. When they were at the tomb early in the morning, and did not find His body, they came, saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said that He was alive." (Luke 24:22-23)
Two angels (John 20:12)
Right. Mary Magdalene saw two angels inside the tomb.
See the article.
No Contradiction
483. How many women came to the sepulcher?
One (John 20:1)
Wrong. Mary Magdalen was not alone as she reported to the apostles (one verse later): “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and WE do not know where they have laid Him.” (John 20:2)
Two (Matthew 28:1)
Very wrong. Early two women went out to see the sepulcher: Mary Magdalene and the other Mary (the mother of James). It is not said that the two actually arrived at the sepulcher, as the critic suggests. First they picked up Salome … (see Mark 16:2)
Three (Mark 16:1-3)
Right. From Mark 16:2 we know that they first picked up Salome, before making their way to the grave.
Five or more (Luke 24:1, 10)
Wrong. The critic makes use of a wrong text variant, which all modern translations have abandoned already.
See the article.
No Contradiction
484. Where did the women watching the crucifixion stand?
Far away (Matthew 27:55, Mark 15:40, Luke 23:49)
Partly right. At the end of the crucifixion many women witnesses his death, they were standing/looking from a distance. This was three hours later than John 19:25 (see next.)
Near the cross (John 19:25)
Partly right. At the beginning of the crucifixion it happened that three women, one of them Mary, Jesus’ mother, were near the cross. However after some words with her son she joined the other women who saw from a distance what happened.
See the article.
No Contradiction
485. Can only God work wonders?
Only God can do. (Psalm 136:4)
“To Him who alone does great wonders,”
Right.
Satan can also do. (2 Thessalonians 2:9)
“the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders,”
Partly right. Satan is not able to do positive wonders, only false wonders.
See the article.
No Contradiction
486. How are people judged by God?
By their words and deeds (Matthew 12:37, Luke 10:26-28, John 5:29)
“those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.” (John 5:29)
Right. God will judge righteously: words and deeds. Moreover words and deeds both stand for the heart. Good words and good deeds represent a good heart.
Those who didn’t know about Jesus will be judged as sheep (good deeds) or as goats (evil, aggressive deeds); see the parable of the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25:31-46).
By their beliefs (and being born again) (Mark 16:16, John 3:3, 18, 36)
Right. Real belief stand for a good heart, good words and good deeds. This manner of judging is not contradictive to the former but compatible with it. False belief stand for an evil heart and hypocritical words and deeds.
See the article.
No Contradiction
487. How many of Zattu’s offspring returned from Babylon?
945 (Ezra 2:8)
Partly right. This was the account of those who were registered for departure (to Jerusalem) in Babel.
845 (Nehemiah 7:13)
Right. Excluded are those that were delayed during the journey and didn’t actually belong to the first wave of arrived immigrants.
Compare the article: "Contradicting lists about Israelites that returned from Babel"
No Contradiction
488. Who was Zechariah’s father?
Jehoiada (2 Chronocles 24:20-21)
“Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest … they stoned him to death in the court of the house of the LORD.”
Berechiah (Matthew 23:35, Luke 11:51, Zechariah 1:1)
“Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.”
Wrong. These men were two different individuals: the first was killed in the court of the temple by stoning. The second was killed between the temple house and the altar. So there were two Zecharias and of course there were also two fathers.
Two different places and two different ways of killing, as a stoning between the altar and the temple house was absolutely impossible.
See the article.
No Contradiction
489. Did Zedekiah see the king of Babylon?
Yes, his eyes beheld the king of Babylon. (Jeremiah 34:3)
Right. “You will not escape from his hand, for you will surely be captured and delivered into his hand; and you will see the king of Babylon eye to eye, and he will speak with you face to face, and you will go to Babylon.”
No, his eyes were removed before he reached Babylon. (2 Kings 25:7)
Very wrong. “Then they captured the king [Zedekiah] and brought him to the king of Babylon [Nebuchadnezzar] at Riblah [Syria], and he passed sentence on him. … then put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him with bronze fetters and brought him to Babylon.”
In Ribla Zedekiah saw king Nebuchadnezzar and his eyes were put out. Then he was brought to Babylon.
See the article.
No Contradiction
490. Who was Zerubbabel’s father?
His father was Pedaiah. (1 Chronicles 3:17-19)
Right. Pedaiah was the biological father of Zerubbabel.
His father was Shealtiel. (Ezra 3:1-2)
Right. Shealtiel (son and heir of king Jeconiah) was the grandfather of Zerubbabel. According to the law “A son of a son is a son,” Zerubbabel was named ‘Son of Shealtiel’ (which did not imply biological son).
See the article.
No Contradiction
491. Where does God dwell?
God dwells in Zion. (Psalm 9:11)
“Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion,”
God dwells in the heavens. (Psalm 123:1, Ecclesiastes 5:2)
“To You I lift up my eyes,
O You who are enthroned in the heavens!”
Right so. It is no shame if someone has two dwelling places, neither is it for God. It is no impossibility for God to live in both at the same time through his Spirit.
See the article.
No Contradiction
492. Did God call Abraham before or after he moved to Haran?
Before he moved to Haran. (Acts 7:2-3)
Right. Already in Genesis 15:7 we read about the Calling of Abraham: “I am the Lord who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess it.” From Ur already God had spoken to Abraham and promised him a region to live. Abraham knew that Haran was not his final place.
After he moved to Haran. (Genesis 11:32-12:1,4)
“Go forth from your country, … To the land which I will show you; …” (12:1)
Wrong. Abraham got his first calling in Ur—before he moved to Haran—to bring him to the promised land.
See the article.
No Contradiction
No Bible Contradictions